You are learning piano at home somewhere in Britain, and you need the right instrument without the guesswork. This page ranks the seven departments of musicinstrumentscompany.co.uk for a home learner, with prices in pounds sterling that include VAT and tracked delivery across the UK.
Updated October 2026These are the departments of the UK store, musicinstrumentscompany.co.uk, that we recommend for people learning piano at home. We rank them from the department every piano learner needs first down to the ones that help once your hands and ears have settled. Every product page shows the maker's facts, the price includes VAT, delivery is tracked, and you have 14 days to return an unwanted item under the store policy, with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 behind you if anything is faulty.
This is the department every home piano learner in the UK should open first. The Kawai ES120 88-Key Digital Piano has 88 weighted keys with hammer action, the feel you will meet on exam day at any ABRSM, Trinity or LCM centre from London to Edinburgh. It needs no tuning, so a damp British winter leaves it alone.
Beside it sits the Yamaha PSS-F30 37-Key Portable Keyboard, a mini-key starter with 120 voices, 114 styles and a metronome. It runs on four AA batteries or USB and weighs about 1.2 kilograms. Prices are in pounds sterling with VAT included, orders over one hundred pounds ship free by tracked courier anywhere in the UK, and anything under that carries a flat twelve pounds charge.
Beginner Packs is where a first-year piano learner in a small British home should look. The OMZZ Ryuusei 88 Foldable 88 Key Digital Piano Beginner Set folds in half, so it fits a studio flat in London or a box room in Birmingham and goes in a cupboard between sessions. The Diodonica 61-Key Lighted Beginner Keyboard Piano lights each key to guide a first player through a tune.
The department also holds starter kits for the instrument you might take up second: the OMZZ 41-Inch Acoustic Guitar Starter Bundle with bag and tuner, the OMZZ 39 Inch Electric Guitar Starter Kit with amp, a 38 Inch Classical Guitar Starter Kit, the Bullfighter 4-String Electric Bass Guitar Starter Set, a Drum Practice Pad Set and the East Top 7-Key Diatonic Harmonica Set. All are priced in pounds sterling including VAT, with free tracked UK delivery over one hundred pounds.
Kids Instruments covers ages three and up, and the piano learner's pick is the Tucraew 37-Key Kids Piano Keyboard with its microphone, stool and music stand. For a British toddler the aim is a love of sound before any thought of grades. The Stoie 8-Note Rainbow Wooden Kids Xylophone and the Kids Percussion Set with wooden xylophone teach the same pattern of notes a piano uses.
Rhythm comes from the Kids Electronic Drum Pad with nine pads and foot pedals, which rolls up and keeps the peace in a terraced house, or the Pyle 3-Piece Kids Drum Kit with cymbal, pedal, throne and sticks for a home with a bit more room. The Egg Shakers 14 Piece Rainbow Set, a 6 Inch Birch Kids Tambourine, the CB SKY 30-Inch Kids Acoustic Guitar and the Hricane Sapele Soprano Ukulele for Kids round it out. Prices in pounds sterling include VAT, and smaller orders under one hundred pounds carry the twelve pounds UK delivery charge.
Rhythm is the weak spot of most home piano learners, and the Drums and Percussion department is the cure. The Meinl Jam Cajon Box Drum with snares gives you bass and snare with bare hands in a Glasgow living room, and the Donner DED-80 Electronic Drum Kit with mesh heads keeps a full kit quiet enough for a Manchester terrace.
For melody that trains the ear, the 8-Note Steel Tongue Drum, the Moozica 21-Key Solid Koa Kalimba Thumb Piano and the EASTROCK 27-Note Glockenspiel all sound notes you can match on your keyboard. The EASTROCK Tunable Wood Bongo Drum Set and the Hand-Painted Mahogany Djembe Drum with goatskin head complete the hand drums. Prices are in pounds sterling with VAT included, and orders over one hundred pounds ship free by tracked courier across the UK.
A pianist who picks up a guitar hears harmony differently, because chords become shapes under the left hand. The Guitars and Basses department at the UK store has the Fender California Debut Redondo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar for a full, warm sound, and the Yamaha CGS102AII 1/2 Size Classical Guitar for a smaller player or a small Edinburgh flat where a dreadnought feels too big.
For anyone drawn to playing with friends, there is the Squier Sonic Stratocaster HT Electric Guitar and a Precision Style Electric Bass Guitar, a classic pairing for a band in a Bristol garage. Prices in pounds sterling include VAT, delivery is tracked across the UK and free over one hundred pounds, and you have 14 days from delivery to return an unwanted guitar in resaleable condition.
String Instruments is the department for a pianist who wants a second voice that is light and quiet. The Hricane Concert Ukulele 23 Inch Mahogany Starter Pack is the simplest way to learn chord shapes in a shared house in Leeds, and the DIGERVY 4/4 Full Size Violin Kit with case, bow and rosin suits a learner who wants to read in a second clef.
For something less usual, the AKLOT 16 String Mahogany Lyre Harp comes with a gig bag and tuning tools, the Gold Tone AC-1 5 String Open Back Banjo with gig bag brings folk rhythm into the house, and the A-Style 8-String Mandolin with storage bag completes the set. All are priced in pounds sterling with VAT included, with tracked delivery to every corner of the UK.
Wind and Brass is the last stop for a piano learner, but it holds one gem. The EASTROCK 32-Key Melodica Set with hard case has a piano keyboard you blow into, so your fingering carries straight across and the volume suits a Birmingham flat. The Yamaha YRS-24B Soprano Recorder and the 12 Hole Alto C Ocarina are quiet ways to learn breath and phrasing.
For a bigger step, the GLORY Closed Hole C Flute with case, tuning rod and gloves, the GLORY Eb Alto Saxophone with hard case and starter kit, a Bb Trumpet with case and gloves, and the 17-Key Bb Clarinet with case and starter accessory kit are all here. The East Top T10-4 10 Hole Blues Harmonica in the key of C fits a coat pocket for the train from Glasgow. Prices in pounds sterling include VAT, and tracked UK delivery is free over one hundred pounds.
If you plan to sit ABRSM, Trinity or LCM grades, buy 88 weighted keys from the start, which at the UK store means the Kawai ES120 88-Key Digital Piano. If you want to try piano for a year before you commit, the Diodonica 61-Key Lighted Beginner Keyboard Piano is the lower step. Both are listed in pounds sterling with VAT included at musicinstrumentscompany.co.uk.
No. The early ABRSM and Trinity grades sit comfortably within 61 keys. You will want the full 88 by about Grade 4 or 5, when pieces reach into the far ends of the keyboard, so if you can stretch to 88 weighted keys now you avoid buying twice.
For a young child or an adult who wants to test the water, yes. It has 37 mini keys, 120 voices, 114 styles and a metronome, and it runs on four AA batteries or USB, so it works on a kitchen table in a Leeds flat with no spare socket. It is not an exam instrument and you will outgrow it, but at about 1.2 kilograms it is easy to carry between homes.
For a home learner in the UK, digital nearly always wins. It needs no tuning, so damp winters and central heating do nothing to it, and you can practise through headphones in a terraced house at ten at night. The UK store sells the Kawai ES120 with 88 weighted hammer-action keys, which gives you the feel of an upright without the tuner's visits.
The OMZZ Ryuusei 88 Foldable 88 Key Digital Piano folds in half, so it suits a studio flat in London or a shared house in Manchester where the instrument has to go away between sessions. The Kawai ES120 has weighted hammer-action keys and is the one to buy if you are aiming at the higher ABRSM or Trinity grades. If space is the only problem, buy the folding piano now and the Kawai later.
It will get you through the first grades, because the notes and the layout are the same as any piano. The keys are not weighted like the Kawai ES120, so for Grade 4 and above you should practise on weighted keys before the exam day. Exam centres across the UK use acoustic pianos, and heavier keys are a surprise if you have never felt them.
The Tucraew 37-Key Kids Piano Keyboard in the Kids Instruments department is made for ages three and up and comes with a microphone, a stool and a music stand. At that age the aim is to make sound fun, not to pass grades. It is a small item, so remember that orders under one hundred pounds carry the twelve pounds delivery charge at the UK store.
Yes, it is a sound first proper keyboard for a British child of that age. The keys light up to show which note to press, so a child who cannot read music yet can follow a tune on their own between lessons. Sixty-one keys cover the early grades, and you can move to 88 weighted keys later.
It is a good idea for their music and a risky one for your neighbours, so pick the right drum. The Kids Electronic Drum Pad rolls up and is the quiet option, and the Pyle 3-Piece Kids Drum Kit is the acoustic choice for a house with a garage or a detached wall. Rhythm practice on any drum helps a young pianist keep a steady beat.
ABRSM, Trinity College London and LCM all run graded exams from Grade 1 to Grade 8 across the UK. The store sells instruments only and does not teach or enter you for exams, and no exam board endorses any product. What matters for exams is weighted full-size keys, which is why we point serious learners to the Kawai ES120.
Yes, as long as it has 88 weighted keys. The Kawai ES120 meets that with its hammer action. The exam itself is played on the centre's piano, so practise some of the time without headphones so you are used to hearing the room.
No. musicinstrumentscompany.co.uk sells instruments only, with no sheet music, lessons or pro audio gear. Buy the instrument there and your exam books from your teacher or a music shop.
Around Grade 3 or 4 in the ABRSM or Trinity syllabus is a sensible point. That is when pieces start to use the ends of the keyboard and when key weight begins to affect your tone. If you know now that you will go that far, buy the Kawai ES120 first and skip the middle step.
Buy a digital piano and a pair of headphones. The Kawai ES120 and the foldable 88 key piano are both digital, and the product page lists every connection so you can check the headphone socket before ordering. With headphones on, the only sound in the room is your fingers on the keys.
Yes. A digital piano has no strings or soundboard to swell, so damp winters in a Newcastle or Sheffield terrace do not put it out of tune. Keep it off a damp outside wall and away from a radiator, and it will stay the same from one year to the next.
The OMZZ Ryuusei 88 Foldable 88 Key Digital Piano is built for exactly that. It folds in half and fits in a car boot or a wardrobe, and it still gives you all 88 keys. Check the weight on the product page against the Kawai ES120 and decide how often you want to carry it up the stairs.
The store dispatches within two working days and tracked courier delivery then takes up to seven working days for most UK addresses. Highlands and islands addresses take a little longer, so allow extra time if you live in Inverness-shire, Orkney, Shetland or the Western Isles. Every order is tracked, so you can watch it come.
Any order over one hundred pounds ships free by tracked courier anywhere in the UK. Under that there is a flat charge of twelve pounds. Check the cart total against the one hundred pounds line before you pay, because adding a small extra such as a harmonica can tip you over it.
Yes, tracked courier delivery covers Northern Ireland along with England, Scotland and Wales. Allow the usual two working days for dispatch and up to seven working days in transit, and a little longer for rural addresses. The one hundred pounds free delivery line applies there too.
A few instruments are sent to the store from an overseas warehouse before they come to you, and the product page says so where that applies. Expect those to take longer than the usual two working days to dispatch. If your first lesson in Birmingham is next week, pick an item without that note.
Yes. Every price is shown in pounds sterling with VAT included, so the figure on the product page is the figure you pay at checkout. There is nothing added at the till for a UK address.
Yes. The UK store takes card payments and PayPal, both in pounds sterling. Pick whichever you prefer at checkout.
The store puts it right at no cost to you under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Contact the store with your order details and keep the packaging. That is separate from the 14-day change-of-mind return, which is the store's own policy.
Yes, within 14 days of delivery, as long as it is in resaleable condition with its packaging and accessories. You pay the return postage for a change of mind. Keep the box for the first fortnight, because a keyboard is awkward to post without it.
Yes. It covers goods bought by a UK consumer, including a digital piano bought online from musicinstrumentscompany.co.uk. If the instrument is faulty, the store puts it right at no cost to you.
Rhythm first. A Meinl Jam Cajon Box Drum or an 8-Note Steel Tongue Drum trains the steady beat that most beginners lack. After that, the EASTROCK 32-Key Melodica Set is a piano keyboard you blow into, so your fingering carries straight across, and it is quiet enough for a flat in Edinburgh.
Yes. The Hricane Concert Ukulele 23 Inch Mahogany Starter Pack is quiet, small to store and teaches chord shapes that make harmony on the piano easier to hear. It ships with the same tracked UK delivery as the pianos.
Music Instruments is a brand of Caruso Consulting Co Ltd, a Christian-led family business whose CEO, Renoo Caruso, preaches in Thailand. The brand hub for all seven country stores is musicinstruments.company. You can leave a review at trustpilot.com/evaluate/musicinstruments.company.
No. The store sells instruments only and does not teach, book lessons or recommend teachers. This site is about finding the right instrument for home lessons in the UK; you find the teacher.
Because every product page lists the maker's facts, the prices are in pounds with VAT included, delivery is tracked across the UK, you have 14 days to return an unwanted item, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 stands behind any fault. Those are the things a home learner needs to know before spending on a first piano.
Learning piano at home in the UK is a different thing from learning it in a school music room. You practise in a terraced house in Manchester with a neighbour through the wall, or in a Glasgow tenement flat with a family above you, or in a cottage in the Highlands where the courier van comes twice a week. The instrument you buy has to fit that life, not a showroom. This guide walks through what matters for a British home learner, and where each kind of instrument sits at musicinstrumentscompany.co.uk, the UK store we recommend.
Most adults who start piano at home in Britain want two things from a first instrument. They want it to feel like a real piano under the fingers, and they want it to be quiet enough for the people they live with. The Kawai ES120 88-Key Digital Piano answers both. It has 88 weighted keys with hammer action, so the key resistance behaves the way an acoustic piano does, and your hands learn the right habits from the first week.
That matters more in the UK than you might think. ABRSM, Trinity College London and LCM graded exams run from Grade 1 to Grade 8, and every one of them is played on a full-size piano with weighted keys. If you learn on light, unweighted keys for two years and then sit Grade 3 on an acoustic piano in an exam centre in Birmingham, your fingers will meet a heavier key than they know. Buying 88 weighted keys at the start saves that shock.
A digital piano has a second advantage in a British home. It never needs tuning, so the damp winter in a Cardiff semi or the dry blast of central heating in a London flat does nothing to it. The product page at the UK store lists the maker's facts: key count and action, materials, power and connections, what is in the box and the weight. Read that page before you buy. It is the same information you would get from a shop assistant, without the sales pitch.
Plenty of people learning piano in the UK do not have a spare room. They have a corner of a living room in a flat in Edinburgh, or a box bedroom in a new-build estate outside Leeds where the walls carry every sound. For them the OMZZ Ryuusei 88 Foldable 88 Key Digital Piano Beginner Set in the Beginner Packs department is worth a serious look. It keeps the full 88 keys but folds in half, so it can live in a cupboard or under a bed between practice sessions.
Be honest with yourself about the trade. A folding piano is lighter and the keys are not weighted like the Kawai ES120. For a first year of lessons in a small British flat it does the job, and it goes with you when the tenancy ends. If you know you are heading for Grade 5 and beyond, the Kawai is the better long-term buy. Either way, headphones are the thing that keeps the peace with neighbours, so check the connections listed on the product page before you order.
Delivery is the same for both. The UK store dispatches within two working days and sends every order by tracked courier, which takes up to seven working days in most of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Orders over one hundred pounds ship free. Below that there is a flat twelve pounds charge. Addresses in the Highlands and islands take a little longer, so if you live on Skye or in Shetland, order before your first lesson rather than the week of it.
If the learner is a child, the choice changes. A five-year-old at a Birmingham primary school does not need 88 weighted keys. They need keys sized for small hands, sounds that make them want to come back, and an instrument that does not sting if they lose interest by half-term. The Kids Instruments department starts at age three. The Tucraew 37-Key Kids Piano Keyboard comes with a microphone, a stool and a music stand, which turns practice into play for a young child.
For a child of seven or eight who is ready for proper lessons, the Diodonica 61-Key Lighted Beginner Keyboard Piano is the usual next step. The keys light up to show which note to press, which helps a child who cannot yet read music follow a tune on their own between lessons. Sixty-one keys cover everything in the early ABRSM and Trinity grades. A sensible time to move to the Kawai ES120 is around Grade 3 or 4, when the weighted keys start to matter for exam pieces.
There is also the Yamaha PSS-F30 37-Key Portable Keyboard in the Keyboards and Pianos department. It has mini keys, 120 voices, 114 styles and a built-in metronome, and it runs on four AA batteries or USB power. At about 1.2 kilograms it is light enough for a child to carry between a parent's home in Manchester and a grandparent's in Liverpool at the weekend, and the metronome is a useful habit to build early.
Here is something most beginners discover in their first few months: rhythm is the problem, not the notes. You can find the right keys and still play the piece unevenly. The Drums and Percussion department at the UK store is the fix. A Meinl Jam Cajon Box Drum sits in the corner of a Glasgow living room and gives you a bass tone and a snare slap with your bare hands. Ten minutes of tapping a steady beat on it before you sit down at the piano does more for your timing than another run through the scales.
The Donner DED-80 Electronic Drum Kit has mesh heads, which are quiet enough for a terraced house in Nottingham. For a smaller corner, the 8-Note Steel Tongue Drum or the Moozica 21-Key Solid Koa Kalimba Thumb Piano give a melodic sound that trains the ear as well as the hand. The EASTROCK 27-Note Glockenspiel is laid out like a piano keyboard, so a young learner can move between the two and see the same pattern of notes.
Once you can play a few pieces, a second instrument makes you a better pianist. Guitar teaches chords as shapes, which deepens how you hear harmony on the keys. The Guitars and Basses department carries the Fender California Debut Redondo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar and the Yamaha CGS102AII 1/2 Size Classical Guitar, which suits a smaller player or a small room. The Squier Sonic Stratocaster HT Electric Guitar and a Precision Style Electric Bass Guitar are there for anyone who wants to play with friends in a garage in Bristol.
The String Instruments department has the Hricane Concert Ukulele 23 Inch Mahogany Starter Pack, which is the easiest way to learn chord shapes in a flat where a guitar feels too loud. The DIGERVY 4/4 Full Size Violin Kit comes with case, bow and rosin for anyone who wants to read music in a second clef. In the Wind and Brass department, the EASTROCK 32-Key Melodica Set has a piano keyboard you blow into, so your piano fingering carries straight across, and the Yamaha YRS-24B Soprano Recorder is the small recorder many British children first meet at school. The East Top T10-4 10 Hole Blues Harmonica in the key of C fits in a coat pocket on the train from Edinburgh to London.
Every price at musicinstrumentscompany.co.uk is in pounds sterling and includes VAT, so the number you see on the page is the number you pay. You can pay by card or PayPal. If you change your mind, you have 14 days from delivery to return a product in resaleable condition with its packaging and accessories. You pay the return postage in that case. If an instrument arrives faulty or develops a fault, the store puts it right at no cost to you under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which is the law that applies to you as a UK buyer.
A few instruments ship to the store from an overseas warehouse first, and their product pages say so, which adds time before dispatch. Read the page and you will know. The store sells instruments only. It does not teach piano, sell sheet music or stock pro audio gear, and we would not send you there for those things. Music Instruments is a brand of Caruso Consulting Co Ltd, a Christian-led family business whose CEO, Renoo Caruso, preaches in Thailand. The brand hub is musicinstruments.company, and you can leave a review at Trustpilot once your instrument arrives.
That is the whole of it. Buy 88 weighted keys if you are serious about the grades, a folding 88 if the flat is small, a lighted 61 or a Yamaha PSS-F30 for a first year, and a kids keyboard for a child under seven. Add a drum for rhythm and a second instrument when you are ready. The UK store has all of them on one site, in pounds, delivered tracked to your door anywhere from Cornwall to Orkney.